What are “if Clauses”?
“If clauses”, called in Italian periodo ipotetico, are sentences that express scenarios where the outcome depends on the condition specified by se (if).
In Italian, there are three different types of if-clauses:
- Type 1 – reality
Se mi inviti al tu0 compleanno, vengo con piacere.
If you invite me to your birthday, I’ll be happy to come.
- Type 2 – possibility
Se fossi meno stanco, uscirei con voi.
If I were less tired, I would go out with you.
- Type 3 – impossibility
Se fossi stato chiaro, avrei capito meglio.
If you had been clear, I would have understood better.
In this article, I will discuss the third type only.
Italian “if Clause” – Type 3
Use
As I mentioned before, the Italian periodo ipotetico type 3 is the one about impossibility. Here are some examples:
Se mi avessi ascoltato, avresti fatto la cosa giusta.
If you had listened to me, you would have done the right thing.
Se fossimo andati in centro, li avremmo incontrati.
If we had gone downtown, we would have met them.
We use this type of if-clause when refering to an event that should have happened in the past but did not (or vice versa). It is the type of impossibility because the condition is impossible of coming true now, because it refers to the past.
Structure
To use this expression, we use the congiuntivo trapassato (past perfect subjunctive) in depending clause introduced by se, namely the one expressing the condition we needed in order for something to occur in the past.
We use the condizionale passato (past conditional) in the main clause, namely the one expressing what would have happened if a certain condition were met.
Therefore, the structure is : se + past perfect subjunctive + past conditional.
Se avessi potuto, sarei venuta a trovarti.
If I could, I would have come to visit you.
However, the order is not fixed, which means that you can also use the following: past conditional + se + past perfect subjunctive
Sarei venuta a trovarti, se avessi potuto.
I would have come to visit you, if I could.
How to Conjugate the Verbs
Past Perfect Subjunctive
If you do not remember how to conjugate the past perfect subjunctive, let me give you a brief recap.
The congiuntivo trapassato is a compound tense, which means it is composed of the auxiliary verb (essere or avere) conjugated in the imperfect subjunctive and the main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Here are the conjugations of avere and essere in the imperfect subjunctive:
| io avessi | io fossi |
| tu avessi | tu fossi |
| lui/lei avesse | lui/lei fosse |
| noi avessimo | noi fossimo |
| voi aveste | voi foste |
| loro avessero | loro fossero |
Remember that we use either essere or avere depending on the main verb they preceed.
- Avere is used with transitive verbs like comprare (to buy), mangiare (to eat), leggere (to read).
- Essere is used with intransitive verbs like, typically movement verbs or verbs referring to a change of state, like uscire (to go out), arrivare (to arrive), morire (to die).
Past Conditional
If you do not remember how to conjugate the past conditional, let me give you a brief recap.
Also the past conditional is a compound verb. It is composed of the auxiliary verb conjugated in the present conditional and the main verb conjugated in the past participle.
Here are the conjugations of verbs avere and essere in the past conditional:
| io avrei | io sarei |
| tu avresti | tu saresti |
| lui/lei avrebbe | lui/lei sarebbe |
| noi avremmo | noi saremmo |
| voi avreste | voi sareste |
| loro avrebbero | loro sarebbero |
Italian “if Clause” – Type 3: Examples
Se mi avessi detto la verità, ti avrei creduto.
If you had told me the truth, I would have believed you.
Avrei preparato qualcosa da mangiare se avessi saputo che venivi.
I would have prepared something to eat if I had known you were coming.
Se avessimo avuto un aereo privato, avremmo girato tutto il mondo.
If we had had a private plane, we would have gone all around the world.
Se fossi venuta al concerto con noi ieri sera, ti saresti divertita.
If you had come to the concert with us last night, you would have had fun.
